District judge Andrew Shaw reserved his judgement until next month. He said he wanted more time to reflect because the case was an ‘important’ one which could have ‘substantial implications’ for future hearings.

Harding, of Llanberis, north Wales, was granted bail with a condition not to have unsupervised contact with a child under 18.

Anthony discovered he was going to be a father when he was 15 and had just celebrated his 16th birthday when Lily was born last September.